Shoe sole



Feb. 8, 1944.

R. F. DOHONEY 2,341,085

SHOE SOLE Filed Aug. 14, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 VINVENTOR. RUDOLPH F. DOHONEY Y gig- M ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 8, 1944. F, DQHQNEY 2,341,085

SHOE SOLE F iled Aug. 14, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

RUDOLPH E DOHONEY TYRES.

Patented F eb. 8, 1944 lJNl'l'D STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE SOLE Rudolph F. Dohoney, St. Louis, Mo.

Application August 14, 1943, Serial No. 498,633

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to shoes and particularly to soles formed of synthetic plastic material.

Many efforts have been made to provide a synthetic plastic material which is a suitable substitute for sole leather. Such a material is required to have wearing properties at least the equal of sole leather but, in addition, its physical properties must be such as to permit its bein worked, strained, and conformed to a last in the process of fabricating the shoe and of maintaining its shape in the resultant shoe.

A synthetic plastic material known as Vinylite has been produced which has the desired wearing properties, but which heretofore has not proved equal to withstanding the strains incident to fabrication. In attempting to utilize this material as the outsole of a shoe, it has heretofore been proposed to provide a blank of such material substantially wider than the resultant sole is to be, such blank being of uniform thickness and, in fact, cut from a sheet of uniform thickness. To the marginal edges of the blank-a fabric strip was stitched to the exterior surface, utilizing a blind stitch so that the strip might be folded back over the line of stitching to draw the blank of plastic about a fibrous sole member, thus rolling the synthetic plastic sheet upwardly over the edge and slightly inwardly over the top surface of the fibrous sole member. Such an arrangement produces a sole which, in its static condition, appears to possess all of the necessary qualities but upon manipulation, as in the process of shoe manufacture and particularl in conformation of the sole to the bottom of the shoe, the synthetic plastic material is unable to withstand the strains, and ruptures.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is to provide a process and arrangement of assembling a blank of synthetic plastic material with a fibrous sole member whereby a satisfactory resultant sole may be produced.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary View of a sheet of material from which sole blanks may be died out, a plurality of such blank configurations being shown.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the blanks shown in Figure 1 after a subsequent operation has been performed thereon.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the member shown in Figure 2 with an attaching strip secured in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the completed sole member of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a completed sole member constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a sole member constructed in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line ll' of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along line 83 of Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9--9 of Figure 6.

In accordance with the present invention, generally stated, a blank of suitable synthetic plastic material, such as Vinylite, is cut out so that its marginal contour is similar to but of slightly greater extent than the marginal contour of the resultant sole is intended to be. To the inside of such a blank (i. e., to the side opposite to that which is to be the wearing surface) a fabric strip is lap stitched so that one margin of the fabric strip extends inwardly of the outer margin of the plastic blank and the outer margin of the fabric strip extends substantiall outwardly beyond the outer margin of the plastic blank. With such an arrangement the line of stitching which connects the fabric strip to the plastic blank extends di rectly through the plastic blank, and is exposed at that side of the plastic blank which is to be the wearing surface in the resultant sole. The present invention, however, contemplates that in the resultant sole the exposed line of stitching be offset from the plane of the wearing surface in the sole. This may be accomplished by flanging the outer margin of the plastic blank and connecting the fabric strip to the flanged portion or, in the case of light soles, without flanging but by arranging the line of stitching in that margin of the plastic blank which lies outwardly beyond the contour of the finished sole, and which, in the process of assembly, may be folded up along the marginal edges of a fibrous filler member. Indeed, it is preferable in the case of the heavier sole to not only flange the outer margin of the plastic blank and stitch the textile strip thereto, but to fold up the flanged portion. In completing the sole of the present invention, the plastic blank with its attached fabric strip is assembled with a fibrous sole filler formed of materials which are customarily used as insoles, and the free portion of the textile strip is drawn inwardly over the margins of the fibrous sole filler member taut and secured in position thereon as by cementing.

When the flanging of the plastic blank is accomplished in such manner as to leave an escarpment defining the contour of the wearing surface of the resultant sole, the portion of reduced thickness, i. e., the flange, may be readily drawn over the margins of the filler member without subjecting. the plastic material to such strains as will rupture it, and withal produce a sole of well defined and shapely appearance.

Referring now to the drawings for a more com plete disclosure of the invention, a sheet of synthetic plastic material I of the desired. thickness which may, for example, be comparable to a six-iron sole, may have a plurality of blanks 2 punched therefrom each such blank 2 being somewhat larger in area than the walking surface of the resultant sole is to be.

The blank 2 is thereupon trimmed to provide a flange 3 of reduced thickness about the exterior margins thereof and an elevated portion 1, which ultimately is to become the walking surface, defined by an escarpment 5.

With the sole blank thus flanged, a strip of textile material 6 is secured to the flange 3 as by a line of stitching l, the strip 6 being arranged as shown in Figure 3i'n lapped relation to the flange 3 and having its inside margin terminating approximately in line with the escarpment 5, while the outer margins thereof extend substantially beyond the outer margins of the flange 3.

A sole filler member 8 of suitable fibrous material such as is customarily used in themanufacture of insoles is thereupon assembled upon the side of the blank 2 opposite the wearing surface 4, and the outwardly extending portions of the fabric strip 6 wiped inwardly over the margins of the filler member 8 to draw the flanges 5 of the sole member upwardly about the edges of the filler blank 8. As is clearly shown in Figure 4 the line of stitching 1 is so spaced with reference to the outer extremity of the flange 3 that there is no tendency to draw the flange 3 inwardly across the filler member 8, but merely a tendency to draw it upwardly along the edges of the filler member 8. When the outwardly extending portions of the strip 6 have been drawn taut they may be secured to the face of the filler member 8 as by cementing, but in order to obtain a surface which is substantially free of wrinkles for connection to the bottom of a lasted shoe it is frequencly desirable to notch the outer margin of the strip 6 (which, in the assembled sole, becomes its inner margin) as shown clearly in Figure 4.

With the arrangement shown it is apparent that the fabric strip 6 extends between the flange 3 of the plastic sole member and the edge portions of the sole filler member 8, and the fabric strip is the only member which is turned inwardly over the upper surface of the sole filler member 8, the flange portion 3 of the plastic blank 2 extending upwardly and not inwardly. With such an arrangement the assembled sole may be flexed and conformed to the bottom of a shoe, as in the process of connecting it, without unduly straining the sole and without rupture at the line of stitching and, particularly when the flanged construction utilizing the escarpment 5 is employed, without producing any irregularity in the shape of the tread surface ihlch would detract from the appearance of the s we.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5 a flange l3 of lesser extent than the flange 3 in the previous embodiment is provided, and the fabric strip stitched thereto as in the case of the previous embodiment. In this case, however, the flange i3 is not of sufficient extent to be turned upwardly about the edges of the fibrous filler member [8 but the fabric strip I6 is turned upwardly over such edges and inwardly over the upper surface of the sole filler member l8. In this case, however, the line of stitching connecting the plastic sole member to the fabric strip is again upwardly displaced from the plane of the wearing surface.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6 the sole 22 is formed from a sheet of plastic material of lesser thickness, as for example about comparable to three-iron sole leather, but is not flanged as was the case with the previous embodiments. A fabric strip 26 is, however, attached to the outer margins of the blank 22 in the same manner as has been heretofore described with reference to the embodiment shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. Indeed, the embodiment shown in Figure 6 may be considered identical with the embodiment shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, with the exception that due to the thinness of the plastic sole member 22 the elevated walking surface 4 of the previous embodiment is eliminated.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will readily understand the construction and appreciate the advantages of the sole herein contemplated.

While the sole illustrated by the several embodiments is particularly adapted and primarily intended for use in connection with shoes wherein the sole is cemented to the made shoe, it is readily apparent that suitable provision may be made for connecting such an out-sole by other means, and it is, therefore, to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited to the precise details herein described.

The invention having thus been described, I claim:

1. A shoe sole comprising a tread member of synthetic plastic having an escarpment defining its tread surface and a portion of reduced thickness outwardly beyond the escarpment, a textile strip stitched in lap relation to the inside of tread member so that the inner margin of said strip is approximately aligned with the escarpment, a filler member having a marginal contour corresponding substantially to the tread surface of the tread member, the line of stitching securing the strip to the tread member being located outwardly from the escarpment a distance less than the thickness of the filler member, said strip being drawn over the edges of and secured to the face of said filler member.

2. A shoe sole comprising a tread member of synthetic plastic, consisting of a tread portion and a marginal non-tread portion embracing the tread portion, a textile strip secured in lapped relation to the inside of the non-tread portion, a fibrous filler member having a marginal contour conforming to the contour of the tread portion of the tread member, said textile strip being drawn over the edges of and secured to the face of said filler member so that the nontread portion of the tread member is displaced upwardly from the tread porition.

3. Th process of making soles comprising, providing a blank tread member of greater extent than the tread surface to be produced, providing a textile strip, stitching the textile strip and a non-tread surface therewithout, providing a textile strip, stitching the textile strip in lapped relation to the inside of the non-tread portion of the tread member, providing a filler member, assembling the filler member on the inside of the tread member, drawing the textile strip about the edges of the filler to draw the nontread portion of the tread member upwardly about such edges but not inwardly thereof, and connecting the strip to the face of the filler member.

RUDOLPH F. D'OHONEY. 

